PBS KIDS

Institutional Award Winner

For nearly three decades, PBS KIDS has been synonymous with the finest in wholesome, educational, and entertaining children’s television accessible to youngsters of all economic and ethnic backgrounds and living in every corner of America. Building on the legacy of legendary children’s TV pioneers such as Fred Rogers and Jim Henson, the performers, writers, animators, executives, and funders associated with PBS KIDS have produced dozens of shows that have won the hearts of millions from the ages of two to eight. Its programs have helped kids to master reading, writing, and arithmetic; to learn about everything from dinosaurs to planets, weather to the scientific method; and to navigate the emotional and interpersonal challenges of friendships and family. For grateful parents everywhere, bombarded by slick commercial programming and social media designed to distract and addict their children, PBS KIDS has provided a place where “screen time” doesn’t have to be a danger zone.

The Public Broadcasting Service first launched PBS KIDS as a programming “vertical” in 1999, formalizing and expanding what until then had been scattered attempts by individual PBS stations to group shows such as Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sesame Street, and The Electric Company. Taking over the morning and parts of the afternoon on more than 300 public TV stations, the franchise has given rise to characters and shows that have become beloved to several new generations of young viewers. They include Curious George, with his mischievous thirst for knowledge; Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, presided over by a 4-year-old cartoon tiger who pays homage to Fred Rogers with his red sweaters and lessons in how to get along; the Wild Kratts and their adventures with animals; and Alma’s Way, starring a 6-year-old animated Puerto Rican heroine created by Sonia Manzano, the actress who played Maria on Sesame Street.

Faced with competition first from entire cable networks devoted to children’s programs and then from scores of shows created for streaming platforms, PBS KIDS has continued to evolve and innovate. have been numerous initiatives to stay current with changes in technology and provide opportunities to reach kids and families where they are as viewers. To this day, PBS KIDS original programming and re-runs continue to occupy eight full hours a day on public stations across the country, and to populate a digital network available at no additional cost to anyone with access to the Internet.

The political winds that have turned against all of public television in recent times haven’t spared the children’s sector. Now that a major source of financial backing—the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—was politically disbanded, PBS KIDS will increasingly have to rely on generous viewers and far-sighted philanthropists to endure and thrive. With high hopes for that continued survival—and with deep appreciation for its role in educating and empowering America’s children—we honor PBS KIDS with the Peabody Institutional Award.